I don't think that follows from "the character is proficient with the lycanthrope's natural attacks," or isthere additional wording that you didn't include in your post? Stoneskin is probably the best non-cleric spell, but concentration and 100 gold per cast is a steep price when Spirit Guardians is an option. Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to heal the badly injured. / Hasbro, Inc. Psi Warrior 5E Guide | Rules, Tips, Builds, and More, Draconic Bloodline Origin 5E Guide | Draconic Sorcerer 5E Guide, Echo Knight 5E | Reviewing the Critical Role Fighter Subclass, Cavalier 5E Guide | Rules, Tips, Builds, and More, Half-Orc 5E Race Guide | Tips and Builds for the Half-Orc Race, Divine Smite 5E: Laying the Holy Smack Down, Centaur Names Guide | Examples and Naming Conventions for 5E. Im glad you liked the other stuff at least =P. You make this choice after you see the roll, but before the DM says whether the attack hits or misses. You learn two languages of your choice. As an action, you become invisible until the end of your next turn. During that time, you can use your action to end this effect and cast thesuggestionspell on the creature without expending a spell slot. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 necrotic damage to the target. The trick part of this question is that I'm a Trickery cleric, and my damage type for Divine Strike is poison. Something does not work as expected? Append content without editing the whole page source. Divine Strike deals more damage if you use weapons, Potent Spellcasting is more consistent if you just use Cantrips. In the end, I dont recommend more than two levels of Druid (Or anything else for that matter). The only exception is for knowledge clerics. When a creature takes damage from one of your spells or weapon attacks, you can also deal 1d8 radiant damage to that creature. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those skills. Go in-depth with our Light Cleric 5E Guide! Your Divine Domain represents the power of the deity whom you serve. Cleric got a ton of cool stuff, especially to equalize some of their more niche options. Improved Reaper (Level 17). Spending two actions to maybe hide is very weak. Sign up to get unlimited songs and podcasts with occasional ads. There are two domains that are brand new and came out with this book, and both are pretty cool! With PC in action, sometimes we experience a build that really overpowers the entire party. These characters can have the same flourishes of a bard, but offer very different forms of utility outside of combat with their magic. After attaining shadow step at lv 6, her PC turned into the most deadly shock attacker Ive ever experienced. Looking at the remaining five spells, Confusion is the only one that even breaks into decent territory. This is often the best option for a dump stat. If the creature succeeds on the saving throw, you cant use this feature on it again until you finish a long rest. Replaces the Divine Strike or Potent Spellcasting feature. Hit Dice: 1d8 per cleric level Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per cleric level after 1st Proficiencies. For that domain, intelligence should be a focus but likely still below wisdom and either constitution or dexterity depending on your build. At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with poisona gift from your deity. If you are a light-armored cleric focusing less of tanking and more on weapons attacks or spellcasting, dexterity should be your second-highest priority. At level 5, turn undead can destroy the targeted creature. When you use theAttackaction, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action. You pick up a fighting style, which is helpful. Also, those domains arent going to be using their CD nearly as often as the Knowledge domain, since theyre combat effects. My DM said this campaign might end at 15th level at the highest, at least that's his estimate. While it managed to save itself with a good subclass spell list, Trickery is unable to climb any higher than the best of the worst. If Arcana clerics got a weaker form of this feature at earlier levels or some progression of wizard spells as they leveled up, Id have ranked the subclass higher. The cleric is a class that derives much of its power from its base features, meaning that many of its subclasses play a supporting role rather than a defining one. Blessed Strikes. When the cleric reaches 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8. 3rd level - Mirror image, pass without trace, 9th level - Dominate person, modify memory. Their magic is derived from their devotion, and higher wisdom amplifies that power. View and manage file attachments for this page. This is the big failure of the War subclass. You can dump strength if you are focusing on spell casting. Since most cleric cantrips force saves, most won't be able to crit negating that possible advantage (Arcana Cleric and others that let you pull cantrips from other spell lists are the only ways to get [italics]Cleric[/italics] cantrips that are attacks that I'm aware of at this time). In fact, some types of clerics are centered around warfare, death, and battle. Blessed Strikes 8th-level cleric feature, which replaces the Divine Strike or Potent Spellcasting feature You are blessed with divine might in battle. Altogether, it offers a powerful array of spells and magic-related features. This might be redundant for forge clerics, however. Divine Strike only goes off once per turn. If so, Arcana is an excellent choice; if not, it gets 13th place. Cantrip versatility lets you replace one cantrip from the Clerics list with another each time you gain an Ability Score Improvement. Clerics might be holy men (or women), but that does not mean they are pacifists. Also at 1st level, you can interpose divine light between yourself and an attacking enemy. If you roll a number equal to or lower than your cleric level, your deity intervenes. A 2d10 bite and 2d8 claws! Once you deal this damage, you can't use this feature again until the start of your next turn. Below we list a few backgrounds we like for a cleric. Also starting at 1st level, your healing spells are more effective. 3rd level - fFaming sphere, scorching ray, 7th level - Guardian of faith, wall of fire. When you cast a spell of 1st level or higher that restores hit points to a creature other than you, you regain hit points equal to 2 + the spell's level. Fourteenth place for this nerd. Down here in the depths of weak cleric subclasses, a powerful domain spell list can make all the difference. Like all good adventurers, a cleric needs a backstory. You are blessed with divine might in battle. The lower level spells are fantastic for any party. You use your Wisdom whenever a cleric spell refers to your spellcasting ability. You add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip. While the domain corresponds to a clerics chosen deity to a degree, it is not exclusive to that deity. It says that you gain any actions that don't involve equipment. The God-Pharaoh expects those he welcomes into the afterlife to desire it above all other pleasures and achievements, and for them to show their dedication, passion, and fervor through their actions. With a Wisdom of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. General Wikidot.com documentation and help section. The power of your spells comes from your devotion to your deity. For example, if you are a 3rd-level cleric, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. While in the past ones I might disagree with certain arguments, or the usefulness of particular features, I often thought Ari had at least strong points. Simply browse for your screenshot using the form below. If you have a domain spell that doesn't appear on the cleric spell list, the spell is nonetheless a cleric spell for you. Instead, we are stuck with something too weak to make a real martial character but still taking up a feature slot. Most creatures will attack you with disadvantage as if you had dodged, with the added bonus that spells and abilities that require sight on the target also fail. On Six Stories With Poorly Designed Factions, On Lessons From the Extremely Serious Writing of Malazan, On Five Writing Advice Cultures to Watch Out For, Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8, Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra1d8damage of the same type dealt by the weapon to the target. Maybe at higher levels you could target more than one creature, or maintain three spells? You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. The screenshot shows all the rules for what you get from any therianthrope curse, it then goes on to state the specific curses later in the text below the screenshot. This boosts your healing spells. The final ability is at level 8, and is one of the few Variant Classes that strictly replaces a class feature. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). Starting when you choose this domain at 1st level, you can use your action to touch a willing creature other than yourself to give it advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. The rule on unarmed strikes specifically states that they can be used to make a weapon attack (a process). Since that ability is garbage, so is this one. Tempest clerics are masters of storms, sky, and the sea. Not all characters can use ritual casting, and only spells that are marked as ritual spells can be used in this way. If a divine strike cleric with a greatclub starts at 16 strength and bumps their strength at levels 4 and 8, they're only doing marginally more damage on average than sacred flame (the biggest gaps are between divine strike scaling and cantrip scaling, so levels 8-10 and 14-16). Lets get this out of the way first: any race can play a cleric. Im not sure what about being a wizard/cleric hybrid means youre strong against celestial, elemental, and fey creatures, but thats what we have. The casting part was even added as an afterthought when I saw that potent spellcasting didn't scale with level like Divine strike does. However, if you use the cantrip semi regularly, you have to consider the loss of damage before 14th against the amount of damage after. Starting at 6th level, you can use your Channel Divinity to vanish. If that wasnt enough, you can use Channel Divinity to move freely, and potentially heal your party for 2d6 + Wisdom. This can be an interesting part of your story if you choose. The damage equals 5 + twice your cleric level. They are especially strong against undead. I just wish it were part of a better subclass. After a failure, the cleric can make another attempt after a long rest. Since the cleric has a whopping 14 subclasses, this is going to be a 3-part post, starting with the bottom 5. When a creature takes damage from one of your spells or weapon attacks, you can also deal 1d 8 radiant damage to that creature. Blessed Strikes replaces either Divine Strike or the Potent Spellcasting feature. Check out how this page has evolved in the past. Blight and Antilife Shell are the only decent non-cleric spells on here, and they arent available till higher levels. Thanks for pointing out my glaring mistake tho lol! It seems like Wizards of the Coast wanted to have a generic feature at this level, but for whatever reason decided they couldnt do that. Hit points are vital for every cleric, though. Magic Missile is probably my favorite, but it is not good enough to make up for all the duds on this list. And while we go into depth below on what races start with an advantage as a cleric, the reality is the different in a +1 or +2 wisdom bonus evaporates at the higher levels. Our hired ships captain got drowned by a water elemental, so my Knowledge cleric became proficient in Water Vehicles and sailed us out of the storm (swinging a Spiritual Weapon all the way). At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Adding our wisdom modifier to each casting of Toll the Dead would be a huge boost. As an action, you present your holy symbol, and any magical darkness within 30 feet of you is dispelled. Disciple of Life (Level 1). Although it was less blessed ammo and more like poisoned ones. When a creature takes damage from one of your cantrips or weapon attacks, you can also deal 1d8 radiant damage to that creature. If your only option is to use a melee weapon, then youre probably better off converting your Channel Divinity into a spell slot using the Tashas option. Beginning at 10th level, you can call on your deity to intervene on your behalf when your need is great. You can do this a number of times per day equal to your total number of Channel Divinities; once at level 2, twice at level 6, and thrice at level 18. Buying the physical books does not entitle you to free digital versions. Now the question is, should I take Divine Strike or Blessed Strikes? This single build idea isnt enough to push Death higher on the list, but it points to some interesting build space I havent seen explored often. Cleric Spellcasting Class Features As a cleric, you gain the following class features. It doesnt draw attacks or have any mechanics for tricking or confusing opponents. This allows you to spend your Channel Divinity to regain a spell slot of a level equal to half of your proficiency bonus. Instead of rolling to determine the HP you restore with a spell, you get the maximum possible for each die you roll. Cleric is one of the more touched-upon classes in this already incredibly versatile book. You have to have 14 cleric levels. Now that we have Toll the Dead dealing d12s, this ability gets a lot stronger. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). The final ability is at level 8, and is one of the few Variant Classes that. Infusing your weapon with divine energy allows you to deal an addition 1d8 radiant energy on one successful attack per turn. Looking at cleric necromancy spells, there are very few options that make use of this ability. The reality is that clerics are powerful on their own, and I would rather have access to their higher level traits as opposed to dipping into another class. If you arent using intelligence for your spell or attack features, then it is one of the worst attributes out there. When a creature takes damage from one of your spells or weapon attacks, you can also deal 1d8 radiant damage to that creature. However, this guide is about optimizing your cleric, and these races are far from optimal. Tashas even added the generic Blessed Strikes option, which all clerics can now choose instead of their normal level 8 ability, just to split the difference. By using this object to focus divine power, a cleric can cast spells without the need to possess minor necessary components. This has a permanent guidance effect, can be useful for teleporting tanks in the way of damage, and gives resistance to damage. Starting at 5th level, when an undead fails its saving throw against your Turn Undead feature, the creature is instantly destroyed if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as shown in the Cleric table above. If trapped within 30 feet, it can dodge. Cleric is one of the more touched-upon classes in this already incredibly versatile book. Others are tireless sentinels whose eyes pierce every shadow and see through every deception. So, what are you waiting for? However, as with any subclass that relies heavily on open-ended spells like Command and Suggestion, your mileage will vary depending on how your GM interprets those abilities. Theres no discussion or evaluation here of utility/out of combat power. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action. Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to harness sunlight, banishing darkness and dealing radiant damage to your foes. She has some magic items I want for her, she's with X NPC, she has set up a temple dedicated to her god with the Temple of the Gods spell somewhere in the city, and she has a Title (something that all the cool higher up government members of the city the campaign takes place in have). At level two, you gain an additional use for Channel Divinity. When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor. David Simon. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier, Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier. A powerful domain with many options for offensive magic, the Tempest Domain offers devastating options. Professor of Political Theory in Star Trek. The below features are common with all clerics, but they will only represent a part of what makes your character unique. Im glad your daughter is having fun with her character, the Shadow monk is the subclass Id pick if I were to play one and I wish her luck in her adventures =). Variable proficiency twice per short rest: our rogue left the game, so my cleric made himself proficient in stealth and thieves tools and, with the help of Guidance/Enhance Ability, successfully snuck into the villains house and stole his spell focus. Changed Blessed Strike to Blessed Strikes. Another case of Potent Spellcasting if youre going for cantrips and Blessed Strikes if youre not. Whenever you reach a level in this class that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can replace one cantrip you learned from this class's Spellcasting feature with another cantrip from the cleric spell list. Clerics had a few class features that werent too useful, and those were fixed. For example, Sune is the goddess of both love and beauty. That creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. Append content without editing the whole page source. Alongside the Oathbreaker paladin, the Death domain was an evil subclass released in the Dungeon Masters Guide to use for NPCs instead of the Players Handbook. The second is that the target you wish to end an effect on must be damaged. The good news is that the Cleric class allows for ritual casting automatically. Additionally, each hostile creature within 30 feet of you must make a Constitution saving throw. Idk about yall, but every game Ive played that isnt a module dungeon crawl is ~65-70% exploration/social/intrigue/RP. When you reach 8th level, you are blessed with divine might in battle. This powerful domain is a sort of merger between a cleric and wizard. Notably, Divine Strikes only work on your turn whereas Blessed Strikes always work including during opportunity attacks. Their clerics are a disruptive force in the world, puncturing pride, mocking tyrants, stealing from the rich, freeing captives, and flouting hollow traditions. A quick side note about Blessed Strikes: it adds 1 die of damage to both weapon attacks and cantrips, but it differs from Potent Spellcasting in that it only adds the extra die once per casting. The problems with that cantrip were that it only dealt d8s and its extra effects were situational. This means you are free to pursue the alignment of your choice while dedicated to any alignment. The Arcana Domain was first released in the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide. Please keep the following in mind when posting a comment: Your comment must be in English or it will be removed. Once you deal this damage, you can't use this feature again until the start of your next turn. Some of these features are intended to supplement the existing class structure, while others are optional replacements for specific features. The Peace Domain focuses on the powerful bond between allies. You can also use your illusion to give you advantage on attack rolls while youre both near the target, similar to Pack Tactics. Your best option for swinging a weapon as a cleric. Your choice grants you domain spells and other features when you choose it at 1st level. Blessed Strikes is the one I'm excited about - it replaces Divine Strike and Potent Spellcasting from your cleric subclass, instead granting +1d8 radiant to weapon attacks and cantrips. Become a patron. When a creature takes damage from one of your Alyxian the Absolved Monsters Divinely Blessed. You also get proficiency for heavy armor and martial weapons. If the creature fails the saving throw it is instantly destroyed depending on its challenge rating. However, your damage wont be great either way. Blessed Strikes . Once you deal this damage, you can't use this feature again If you also cast a spell as a bonus action, that number increases to three (but the two additional spells must be cantrips). When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain the light cantrip if you don't already know it. This can not be used when you use a short rest to gain Channel Divinities; Channel Divinity and Harness Divine power are different. You get three uses of Channel Divinity at Level 18, which is more valuable than taking three levels of Druid. More than your average priest, a cleric serves as a conduit between the god they worship and the mortal world. At Level 17, the ability described in Reaper applies for spells level 1 through 5 in addition to necromancy cantrips. In battle, you are blessed with divine might. Starting at 11th level, you gain the ability to infuse your strikes with divine energy. Heat in battle and Illumination when it is needed are common threads in the available spells. It cannot willingly come within 30 feet of the cleric. No matter your build, background, or domain, so much of your character will center around wisdom. Learn more with our complete Nature Cleric 5E Guide. Blessed strikes doesn't specify that the damage must be added to cleric cantrips, but "your" cantrips. You also see our take on the best and worst options with our Cleric Domain Rankings. However, his followers also abhored poison and were known for providing the young and infirm with meat from their hunts during harsh winters. Last week, I wrapped up my bard subclass rankings. This domain shares a lot with paladins, with an interesting mix of attacks and useful concentration spells. All rights reserved. When you cast a necromancy spell of 1st through 5th-level that targets only one creature, the spell can instead target two creatures within range and within 5 feet of each other. Gods often have control over multiple domains. Ive seen otherwise. Gods of lightincluding Helm, Lathander, Pholtus, Branchala, the Silver Flame, Belenus, Apollo, and Re-Horakhtypromote the ideals of rebirth and renewal, truth, vigilance, and beauty, often using the symbol of the sun. Nerds and Scoundrels is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. 8th-level cleric Divine Domain feature (replaces Divine Strike) In battle, you are blessed with divine might. If the spell consumes its material components, you must provide them for each target. If you don't take an attack cantrip, sticking with Divine Strike will be better. You are blessed with divine might in battle. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 poison damage to the target. Wrestling between your higher calling and your friends can lead to interesting interparty conflict. Starting at 5th level, when an undead fails its saving throw against your Turn Undead feature, the creature is instantly destroyed if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as shown in the Cleric table above. In most cases, this class of adventurer joins a party at the behest of their god. As a bonus action on your turn, you can move any number of them up to 30 feet, to a maximum range of 120 feet. This can. And as we saw, the rules for PC werecreature curses state that you gain all actions of the statblock that don't involve equipment. We discuss this concept in-depth in our Ritual Casting Guide. When you roll fire or thunder damage, you can use your Channel Divinity to deal maximum damage instead of rolling. Once you deal this damage, you can't use this . As an action, you present your holy symbol, and one celestial, elemental, fey, or fiend of your choice that is within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw, provided that the creature can see or hear you. A good example of this is the followers of Malar. A lot of the Cleric list adds things from Paladin and divine-focused spells from arcane lists. Supreme Healing (Level 17). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. In that case, keep Charisma high and select a background with useful face skills. You can do it with other divine strikes as well which may give you the more holy arrow feel but it probably will be sub optimal so be prepared for that. Below, we take a deep dive into the rules of this class and how to optimize your cleric. E.g., Ive been playing a Knowledge cleric for 3 years now and my domain has made me a dominating presence in non-combat scenarios, as well as the primary driver of info/plot development/strategy. Oh damn Ive been looking for stuff like this!Im currently running a third level outlander wood elf cleric whose back story involves her having been recently banished from her home after defying an invaders attempts to send her homeland into the shadowfell.Recovering from the temporary amnesia and ill health the result of a banishment spell not just sending her back to her Feywild Refuge but also severing her link to the home she had family within she is slowly recovering from her loss.My DM however doesnt seem to be the sort to base his game in one area especially as he seems intent on redoing an older campaign involving a lot of travelling instead of being based in one area and developing the campaign that way.So Im seriously considering multi-classing as a fey warlock since my character at the end of the last scenario had established a shrine to Ioun to honour the memory of the guards whose downfall led to me being involved.I feel my character would be honour bound to finish the mission which would mean training an acolyte to take care of the shrine when Im not available and build up the settlements defences as I already know there are bandits in the nearby Forest of Doom and we defeated a fiend and her undead cohorts located near Treefoil and the fiends words strongly suggest theres a portal to the abyss somewhere in that Forest or nearby meaning its only a matter of time before another appears.I know Im talking to the wrong person but I really need to put this into words so when I next get to run Vall I know what I have to do.Eve if your article strongly demonstrates multi-classing is a BAD idea and I should boost my Wisdom instead!!!